Generally, once a semiconductor wafer has gone through the front end of line and back end of line processing to form semiconductor devices and their respective connections, the semiconductor wafer is coated with, e.g., a resin in order to further protect the semiconductor wafer from physical and environmental damage. In order to get the resin into a desired shape the semiconductor wafer is placed into a molding chamber (usually with a special release film that keeps the wafer from adhering to the molding chamber) and the resin is injected into the molding chamber such that the molding chamber molds the resin into the desired shape over the semiconductor wafer.
However, when a resin is injected into the chamber with the semiconductor wafer merely resting (or “floating”) on the release film, an undesired accumulation of resin, known as “flash,” may occur along the backside of the semiconductor wafer. This flash can cause several destructive issues and can interfere with the operation of the semiconductor wafer. For example, the flash, being a dielectric material, can cover conductive contacts and prevent them from conducting power and/or signals into and out of the semiconductor wafer. Additionally, flash accumulation may also interfere by destroying the planarity of the backside of the semiconductor wafer, and could prevent the proper placement and alignment of the semiconductor wafer during connection with external devices.
Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the various embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.